First P3 project proves Alberta is a leader in transportation policy and practice

For the southeast leg of the Edmonton Ring Road, our team of engineers, surveyors, and scientists was brought in as co-designer for half the project to provide the survey, road, drainage, bridge, and lighting design.

Extending 11 kilometres, the southeast leg of Anthony Henday Drive spans six lanes between Highway 2 and 50th Street and four lanes between 50th Street and Highway 14. With Alberta experiencing rapid population growth, reducing traffic congestion was a major goal. We provided design and construction services for the eastern half of the project including the 17th Street interchange, the Bretona systems interchange, 6.6 kilometres of the 11 kilometres eight lane freeway design, and 12 structures throughout the length of the project. We were also tasked with design and development of the Mill Creek watershed, with the resulting benefits of reduced downstream flows and flooding.

A benefit of the Public-Private Partnership (P3) approach is that the project gets built quicker and taxpayers are protected from rising inflation costs and other project cost risks. We were very aggressive in our delivery of segmental designs for earthworks, structures, and designs for utility agreements in order to allow the contractors to get an early start and enjoy a continuous workflow. Using the P3 approach the project was open to traffic at least two years sooner than with a traditional delivery approach.

With over 50,000 vehicles traveling this road every day, the goal of creating an efficient transportation corridor in line with the growing size of the city has been realized.